Modi government is naive — War unavoidable if India ignores warnings, China says

Days after Modi government showed olive branch to China in the current border row, China has said that India has learnt nothing from the 1962 war.

In an editorial, China’s state run Global Times ridiculed a Times of India report where the newspaper said that experts believe minimal chance of a war between the two countries.

“Fifty-five years have passed, but the Indian government is as naive as it ever was. The lessons of the 1962 war didn’t last for half a century,” Global Times said.

Just few days back External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said that war is not a solution and that India wants to resolve disputes through talks. The same was reiterated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Drawing a parallel with the situation of 1962 to present, it said, “India made constant provocations at the China-India border in 1962. The government of Jawaharlal Nehru at that time firmly believed China would not strike back…However, the Nehru government underestimated the determination of the Chinese government to safeguard China’s territorial integrity even as the country was mired in both domestic and diplomatic woes.”

“Now the Indians place their hopes on China being unwilling to risk a war due to strategic concerns. They believe the US will likely side with India, which will exert huge psychological pressure on China. It seems that New Delhi does not comprehend the nature of the Sino-US rivalry and the meaning of strategic containment. It thinks Washington can influence the situation along the China-India border simply by issuing a pro-India statement or sending warships to the Indian Ocean.”

It said that Beijing has not yet started a war “because it hopes New Delhi can make a rational choice rather than China daring not to take action”.

“If the Narendra Modi government continues ignoring the warning coming from a situation spiraling out of control, countermeasures from China will be unavoidable,” the Global Times warned.
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